Thursday, January 1, 2009

Things I'd Like To See in 2009

In keeping with the flip of the calendar, here are some things I'd like to see in this new year filled with opportunity and hope:

* Change national championships to eight ends. The time has come.

* Ed Werenich get his rightful spot in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

* The CRA realize it’s made a big mistake and lay off Wayne Middaugh et al.

* A huge turnout for the big curling shootout at the Air Canada Centre in October.

* The CCA begin working on a plan to take advantage of the hype that will be generated by the 2010 Olympics, That plan will allow curling clubs from coast to coast to capitalize on getting new members.

* The purses on the WCT to increase.

* More women’s teams to play aggressively, without fear of giving up a big end.

* Ontario to change its playdown system to reward the top competitive teams. Why a Glenn Howard has to play zones is beyond comprehension.

* The end of cheesy high school bands playing the music before draws at the Tim Hortons Brier and Scotties. It’s not cute any more, it’s third-rate. If you want to attract a younger demographic, end the Lawrence Welk stuff.

* The CCA to award the Brier to either Vancouver or Toronto.

* Hollywood Henderson get his three-peat at the Scotty Harpers.

* Curling to start attracting players from the many new Canadian communities across this country (but mainly in the big cities). It’s the whitest sport around, which isn’t the way the country looks any more.

* Allow people who take and pass – and pay for -- the course for officiating, to actually work national and regional championships. Seems there’s a clique that tends to work all the events while the newbies sit at home.

* Bill “Gravy” Graveland to come home safely from Afghanistan. Covering curling has got to be far less stressful.

* Me to get back on the ice and find that form that helped me win the third-event consolation at the 1978 St. George’s Junior Spiel.

I can't offer you any statistical evidence to back up my claim Alex, only that I find 8 end games a) more enjoyable because the teams don't seem to waste ends; and b) more enjoyable from a time standpoint.Eight ends works better from a television standpoint as well or so my contacts at TSN say and that may have more bearing on the change than anything. Don't forget that Brier games used to be 12 ends not that long ago and were shortened to 10. In Ontario, anyway, some championships used to be 16 ends!Finally, whether a game is good or not has more to do with what happens during the ends allotted, not the number of ends played. I've seen good games and bad games at both eight and 10 ends.